Article grasping and handling tool



. Oct. 29, 1963 N. CASSARA ARTICLE GRASPING AND HANDLING TOOL Filed Sept. 19, 1960 mmvrm Mae 014s 25.5424

3,1il8,834 ARTIELE GRASPING AND HANDLING TOUL Nicholas Cassara, 440 McDonald Ave, Brooklyn, bLY. Filed Sept. 19, 196i), Ser. No. 56,870 Elairns. (Cl. 294-1 9) This invention relates generally to article grasping and handling tools and more particularly is concerned with an improved article grasping and handling tool which may be employed for the mounting, positioning and removal or" conventional clothes line pulleys.

As is well known, such pulleys are frequently located in positions which can be approached only with great difliculty. For example, it is common practice to dispose clothes line pulleys in elevated positions upon high poles or the exterior walls of buildings, thereby making it necessary to climb such poles or to utilize devices such as ladders in order to approach the locations where the mounting of such pulleys is intended. Frequently, these operations are attended with considerable danger and require substantial physical agility and effort.

To overcome these ditiiculties, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convenient tool for manipulating a conventional clothes line pulley to and from posi tions upon clothes line poles and other elevated structures.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character indicated which may be operated without the necessity of utilizing ladders or other similar devices, such as are conventionally used to facilitate the approach to such clothes line pulleys in their normal operative positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character indicated having improved means for securely and quickly engaging the sides of conventional clothes line pulleys.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character indicated having improved means for engaging and positioning the clothes line employed wit; such pulleys during the engagement thereof by said tool, whereby said clothes line does not interfere with and is supported during the manipulation of the pulleys.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a tool of the character indicated which is of inherently simple design and which may be economically manufactured.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description as read in connection with the accompmying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE i1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention depicted in a position wherein it is about to engage a clothes line pulley;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the form of the invention depicted in FIGURE 1, the said pulley being shown in a position wherein it is received between the open jaws of said form of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational View of said form of the invention wherein its jaws are depicted in a closed position and engaging a conventional clothes line pulley;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the left end of FIGURE 3 and depicting the rcmoval of a clothes line pulley by said form of the invention from the normal mounting of the pulley;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view depicting a modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 6.6 of FIGURE 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows disposed in the vicinity of the ends of said line 66;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken about the United States Patent 0 in a vertical position as indicated in FIGURE '1.

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line 77 of FIGURE 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows located in the vicinity of the ends of said line 77;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the yoke employed in the modified form of the invention depicted in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the removal of a clothes line pulley by means of the aforesaid modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 10 is a cross-sectional view talren about line lllr1ll of FIGURE 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows disposed in the vicinity of the ends of said line 1ll1.

As shown in the accompanying drawing, one embodiment of the present invention comprises a handle 2b which may be manually engaged by the user and disposed This handle is provided with a ferrule 21 engaged with an elongated member, such as a tube 22. At the upper portion of the tube 2-2 there are disposed a pair of oppositely located arms 23-, 23a. As may be noted in FIGURES 2 and 10, the arms 23, 23a have an arcuate cross-section, thereby permitting them to conform with the external periphery of the tube 22. Said arms are preferably composed :of a resilient material, such as a springy metallic substance or a springy wood. Each of these arms is secured to the tube 2 2-by means of a nut, bolt and washer assembly M, which extend through said arms and the said tube. The nut, bolt and washer assembly 24- serve as an anchoring means for the aforesaid arms 23, 23a which are supportable in an open position, as depicted in FIGURES 1 and 2 by a pin 25 which is pivotably mounted upon a shaft 26 secured within a pair of cars 27 provided on one of said arms 23a. The pin is maintained in contact with the arm 23 by virtue of the pressure exerted on each of the arms 23, 23a by a pair of coiled compression springs 28 which are seated between a pair of washers 29 disposed upon a bolt 30" and nut 31, the said bolt extending through the arms 23, 23a. The springs 28 urge the arms 23, 23a towards each other thereby supporting the end of the pin 25 against the arm 23 and maintaining same in the position depicted in FIG- URE 2. In this manner, the arms 23, 23a. are held by the pin in the open position illustrated in said figure.

The ends of the arms are provided with jaws 32 which are preferably composed of rubber or other similar clastomer-ic material.

With this arrangement, the above-dcscribed device can be held in a vertical position, as shown in FIGURE 1, and brought into the vicinity of a conventional clothes line pulley 33 provided with a clothes line 34 and mounted, as by a conventional hook 35 in an elevated position, said hook depending from a surface 3 6 such as that presented by the conventional clothes line pole.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the device may be elevated so that the open jaws 32 straddle the pulley 33. To ac complish removal of said pulley, the pin 25 is pivoted by means of a flexible member 36, such as a Wire or cord which is attached to said pin 25 and disposed through a plurality of aligned guides 37 projecting horizontally from the said tube and handle. When the flexible member 36 is subjected to tension, such as may be imposed by a downward pull exerted by the user, the pin 25 will be pivoted out of engagement with the arm 23, as to the position thereof depicted in FIGURE 3. With such disposition of the pin, the jaws 32 are biased by the springs 23 to the closed position shown in said FIGURE 3, wherein they engage the sides of the pulley 33. Thereafter, upon such engagement, the pulley 33 may be elevated from the book 35 in the general direction of the arrow shown in FIGURE 4, thereby removing the pulley from said hook. Then, the pulley may be lowered within the reach of the user or may be manipulated to any other desired position. Replacement of the pulley may be .accomplished by disposing the pulley upon the hook with the aid of the described device and then disengaging the jaws 32 from said pulley, as by a downward pull upon the handle 20, the said jaws being slidably removable from the pulley upon such downward pull.

It may be desirable during engagement of the pulley by the jaws 32 to push the clothes line 34 out of the way or to support it during manipulation of the pulley. For this purpose, a modified form of the invention may be employed. In this form of the invention, the tube 22 is provided with the arms 23 anchored as aforesaid by the nut, bolt and washer assembly 24 and held by the pin 25 in the above-described manner, the biasing of the jaws being maintained by the springs 28 seated upon washers 29 received upon the bolt 30 and nut 31. The tube is also provided with a hollow member 38 and a guide 39 aligned with an aperture 40 provided in said hollow member 38. The said aperture and guide receive the stem 41 of a bifurcated member or yoke 42, the upper portion 42a of said stem being outwardly inclined with respect to the tube 22 as depicted in FIG- URES 8 and 9.

With this arrangement, the jaws 32 may be brought into engagement with the pulley 33, as by exerting tension upon the flexible member 36 in the manner previously described. At the same time, as illustrated in FIGURE 9, the yoke 42 will engage the clothes line 34 thereby pushing it upwardly during the removal of the pulley from the hook 35 and thus supporting the clothes line and insuring against any interference by it during the manipulation of the pulley.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the forms of the invention described above permit of easy engagement, manipulation and disengagement of conventional clothes line pulleys and at the same time allow such operations to take place while the user is standing substantially below the normal elevation of such pulleys, the permissible position or the user being limited largely by the length of the handle 20 and the tube 22 employed in said forms of the invention.

It will also be noted that only a few parts are required by the invention and that all of them are capable of a light construction, thereby facilitating the movement of said forms of the invention.

When the device is not in use, the tube 22 may be removed from the ferrule 21, and the yoke 42 may be removed from the hollow member 38 and guide 39, so as to permit storage of the tube, yoke and handle in a compact arrangement. It will be understood that the tube may be a solid member and that any number of sections may be employed for the handle so as to achieve the desired elevation. The handle elements may be engaged with each other by means of the socket-type arrangement illustrated or by any other suitable means.

The foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described to illustrate the principles involved. It will be apparent, however, that this invention is not limited to these embodiments and that changes, additions and modifications can be made in connection therewith without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. An improved clothes line pulley manipulating tool comprising in combination, an elongated member, a pair of oppositely located resilient arms associated with said elongated member, the inherent resiliency of said arms tending to urge them together, one end of each of said arms being anchored to said elongated member, the said arms being held in an open position by a pin pivotably mounted upon one of said arms and disposed in contact with the other of said arms, the portion of one arm providing a pivot for said pin extending between said arms .for a distance less than the separation thereof by said elongated member, the said arms being urged towards each other by spring means which are disposed in the plane of said arms and which are operable in said plane, the other end of each of said arms being provided with a rubber jaw, a flexible member being secured to said pin, the said pin being pivotable out of contact with one of said arms upon the exertion of tension upon said flexible member, the said jaws being movable to a closed position in engagement with a clothes line pulley upon the pivoting of the pin, the said jaws being urged towards said closed position by the spring means.

2. A device according to claim 1, .the said spring means comprising a pair of oppositely disposed compression springs disposed upon a bolt extending through said arms and said elongated member, the said springs being contactable with the external periphery of each of the arms. 3. An improved clothes line pulley manipulating tool comprising in combination, a handle, an elongated cylindrical member removably secured to said handle, a pair of oppositely located resilient arms disposed in contact with said cylindrical member, the inherent resiliency of said arms tending to urge them together, the said arms being of arcuate cross-sectional conformation, one end of each of said arms being anchored to said elongated member by a bolt extending through said arms and said end of each of said arms, said bolt being secured to said arms and elongated member by a nut and washer, the said arms being held in an open position by a pin pivotably mounted upon a shaft rotatably secured in a pair of ears provided upon one of said arms, the said pin being disposed in contact with the other of said arms, said ears extending between said arms for a distance less than the separation thereof by said elongated member, the said arms being urged towards each other by a pair of coiled compression springs secured upon a bolt extending through said 'arms and said elongated member, one end of each spring abutting the outer surface of the adjacent arm, one end of each of said arms being provided with a jaw composed of an elastic material, a flexible cord being secured to said pin, the said pin being pivotable out of contact with one of said arms upon the exertion of tension upon said flexible cord, the said flexible cord being movably received in a plurality of aligned guides provided upon said handle and said elongated member, the said jaws being disposable to a closed position in engagement with a clothes line pulley upon the pivoting of the pin, the said jaws being urged towards said closed position by the said coiled compression springs. V

4. A tool as set forth in claim 3, wherein provision is made to adjust the pressure exerted. by said compression springs on said arms.

5. A tool as set forth in claim 3, said bolt having a head at one end thereof and being provided with a nut at the other end thereof, one of said springs being seated on said bolt between said head and the outer surface of its associated arm and the other of said springs being seated on said bolt between said not and the outer surface of its associated arm, whereby the pressure exerted by said springs may be adjusted by adjustment of said nut on said bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,180,764 Derdits Apr. 25, 1916 1,197,801 Curry Sept. 12, 1916 1,504,757 Hastings Aug. 12, 1924. 2,233,212 Jensen Feb. 25, 1941 2,449,680 Wak, et al Sept. 21, 1948 2,584,853 Elsey Feb. 5, 1952 2,616,741 Ziese Nov. 4, 1952 (Other references on following page) 5 r 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES 2,896,239 Bugbird July 1959 Giille, Inventor, Siemens and Halske Aktiengesell- FOREIGN PATENTS schafit, German application, Serial No. 841848, printed 338,934 Germany July 7, 1921 5 August 23, 1956 (K1. 3512-603).

126,560 Sweden Nov. 1, 1949 

1. AN IMPROVED CLOTHES LINE PULLEY MANIPULATING TOOL COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED MEMBER, A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY LOCATED RESILIENT ARMS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, THE INHERENT RESILIENCY OF SAID ARMS TENDING TO URGE THEM TOGETHER, ONE END OF EACH OF SAID ARMS BEING ANCHORED TO SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, THE SAID ARMS BEING HELD IN AN OPEN POSITION BY A PIN PIVOTABLY MOUNTED UPON ONE OF SAID ARMS AND DISPOSED IN CONTACT WITH THE OTHER OF SAID ARMS, THE PORTION OF ONE ARM PROVIDING A PIVOT FOR SAID PIN EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID ARMS FOR DISTANCE LESS THAN THE SEPARATION THEREOF BY SAID ELONGATED MEMBER, THE SAID ARMS BEING URGED TOWARDS EACH OTHER BY SPRING MEANS WHICH ARE DISPOSED IN THE PLANE OF SAID ARMS AND WHICH ARE OPERABLE IN SAID PLANE, THE OTHER END OF EACH OF SAID ARMS BEING PROVIDED WITH A RUBBER JAW, A FLEXIBLE MEMBER BEING SECURED TO SAID PIN, THE SAID PIN BEING PIVOTABLE OUT OF CONTACT WITH ONE OF SAID ARMS UPON THE EXERTION OF TENSION UPON SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBER, 